I was wondering if anyone could please help me interprit a small snippet from two diff. recent dreams. I personally don't normally go for cookie cutter dream dictionary interpritations, but I do think they are accurate and appropriate SOMETIMES. I will accept any opinions gladly. Here goes:

I had a huge dream, but I will only list this one snippet of that dream for now. I drempt I was standing under a tree with a guy I like. There was a large, white rat in the tree. I thought it was dead, and while I'm not sure if I knew how in the dream, for some reason I want to say it was shot. Anyway, I remember feeling sorry for the rat.

In a dream I had a few days- maybe a week- later, I drempt at one point of a small, black (or dark grey) rat. I thought it was a baby- not much more than a newborn. It had fur, but it was a very light amount as it was just growing in and I could still see the skin through the fur- it was like a downy fur. I thought it was scurrying on the ground. I felt protective over it and worried about it. I wanted to pick it up, but was afraid it might bite. I was asking my sister if she thought the rat would bite, or if it posed no risk to me. I thought it started to go down a drain and I was scared it might get lost and hurt, but I was a bit away from it and didn't think I'd get to it in time. My sister was next to it and grabbed it before it got away. She told me it was safe, not speaking of its condition, but meaning it wasn't threatening in any way and would not bite me. It was safe to hold it in other words. She handed it to me and I held it in my hands. Again, I want to repeat that I felt very nurturing towards this animal and concerned about its well being. I also want to add that my sister is very scared of rats and would NEVER have picked one up in real life, but was at perfect ease with it here.

I find it interesting that the rat in the first dream was big, white, dead, and up high (in a tree) while in almost total contrast the rat in the dream a few days, perhaps a week later, was small, black (or very dark grey- but I think closer to black), a baby at the beginning of its life, and barely more than a newborn, and on the ground....and at one point even trying to go lower, down a drainpipe. Yet, my feelings for them were similar. Loving feelings. For the first I felt compassion and sympathy...I was sad it had died and felt sorry for it. For the second, I felt love and nurturing, maternal feelings, and a need to protect it, but also some unease as I was worried about its well being.